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Terrarism
Terrarism is the debut studio album by Barbadian R&B singer Terra, released on March 10, 2009 which spawned two consecutive number one singles, "Tearin' Up My Heart" featuring Ludar and "They Call Me Goldie". The album was made famous for its multiple collaborations and was one of the top-selling albums of 2009. Conception Background Given her success as a songwriter and producer, Terra was approached by up-and-coming label Lost & Found Records to audition for a spot with them. After a successful audition, Terra was given a five-album/ten year contract contract and was tasked to produce a new album for the first quarter of 2009. Recording After signing with Lost & Found Records in late November 2008, Terra began to record music for her debut album in Conneticut and New York City. She teamed up with Spotlight's arguably most popular producer Killabeatz, R&B singer/songwriter Eric Brown, producer Dale Purple and hitmaker Billy Bob to produce four of the albums tracks. The remainder of the album was written and produced by herself and members of The Click. She utilised some music which she had written and had intended to sell to other artists. "Tearin' Up My Heart" and "Candy Mountain" which were written for Pop/R&B singers Shaquanella Woods and Jade Woods respectively, prior to the confirmation of the record deal were kept for the album and were eventually used as the singles - the former being the lead single and the latter, the third and final. A number of songs were recorded but failed to make the final cut for the album including "Always & Forever", "Addiction" (used in the Confessions of a Shopaholic soundtrack instead), "Fantasy Ride" (re-written and given to Shaquanella Woods for her debut album, "Halo"), "Aye Aye Capitan", "Still In Love" and an unreleased and untitled song with Synkronii and Jenna B which was reportedly cancelled due to problems between the artists' respective labels. Musical styles and themes The original theme for the album was according to Terra was "heartbreak and devastation" and hence the title "Terrarism" was born - not only was it a play on her name but it highlighted pain of the heart. However, after some recording sessions, Terra announced that she was slipping away from this theme in order to be more creative. However, the original album title was kept. Also, initially the album was to be a strictly R&B record but due to some of her records being heavily influenced by pop and reggae she also decided to scrap that style. The album's genre floats between dance-pop ("They Call Me Goldie") to hip-hop ("Tearin' Up My Heart") to reggae ("Candy Mountain") to alternative ("DeadLove") and Bollywood-styled pop ("SOS"). The general style of the album was pop and r&b with heavier leanings towards pop. Terra made several announcements regarding the direction of the album but it often changed. On March 20th, 10 days after the release of the album she told MTV News: "I've been very indecisive with the music. One minute I like one flavour and the next another. The album is a blend of vanilla and chocolate. Everything you can possibly imagine is on there. It's not super pop or super urban. It's just right. Hey, they don't call me Goldie for nothing." The album was later praised by critics for its diversity and its appeal to different strata of society. Promotion Release Singles The album's first single, "Tearin' Up My Heart" written and produced by The Click was released in February 2009 and by March it had hit number one on several charts including the Hot Singles Chart for two weeks and the Hot Airplay Chart. "They Call Me Goldie", produced by Killabeatz was chosen as the follow-up single for the album release and it quickly reached the number one spot on the Hot Singles Chart for one week. The reggae number and Ethan Randall collaboration, "Candy Mountain" was soon selected as the third single and although it suffered the absence of promotion and a music video it peaked at number three on the Hot Singles Chart and was number one on the Downloads Chart. "DeadLove" featuring The Mannequins was chosen as the fourth single but was never released due to the collapse of the Spotlight industry. In November 2009, the label announced that the song would still be released but it was then scrapped so Terra could focus on her sophomore album. Tour Terra underwent very minor club promotion before embarking on her first concert tour, Destiny & Dynasty which she co-headlined with Kiara. The tour was the biggest grossing tour of 2009 in the Spotlight region and received rave reviews from critics and fans alike. Terra was originally signed on to tour with pop superstar Julia Sanderson but after the latter's disappearance from the music industry, those plans were scrapped. Reception Commercial performance Terrarism was released on March 10, 2008. The album debuted at number one on the Hot Albums Chart with first week sales of over 316,000 copies easily making it the highest selling debut of 2009, as well as the highest selling sales for 1 week in 2009. The record only lasted for one week however, as Kiara's release, "Broken Silence" sold more the following chart week. Nevertheless, Terra had the highest sales by a new artist in one week in 2009. The album has sold over 1.2 million copies in its fourteen weeks accounted for and is certified Platinum for sales over a million. Each of the album's singles were highly successful peaking at number one on one chart or the other including the Hot Singles Chart, Hot Airplay and iTunes. Terra's success single-wise made her the best female singles-artist of 2009 beating out acts like Britney Love and Serena Davis. Critical response Terrarism received excellent reviews upon release with critics calling it "great" and "versatile". Special mention was made of "DeadLove" a collaboration with The Mannequins as well as "Candy Mountain" with Ethan Randall which the reviewers called "sexy and lyrically brilliant". The album received near perfect scores from local Spotlight reviewers. "Tearin' Up My Heart" received two Grammy nominations at the 2009 Grammy Awards. One for Best R&B Song and the other for Best Rap/Sung Vocal, the latter of which it won. Tracklisting :1. "They Call Me Goldie" (Written by: Maria Booker; Nate Martin, Produced by: Killabeatz) :2. "Tearin' Up My Heart" featuring Ludar (Written by: The Click, Produced by: The Click) :3. "Candy Mountain" featuring Ethan Randall (Written by: The Click, Produced by: The Click) :4. "Rogue Princess" (Written by: The Click; Livvi Santiago Mendez; Jade Warren, Produced by: The Click) :5. "Bleed 4 Me" (Written by: The Click, Produced by: The Click) :6. "Jump On My Car (Driving)" (Written by: Dale Purple; Eric Brown, Produced by: Dale Purple; Eric Brown) :7. "In The City" featuring Nicole Phillips (Written by: Billy Bob; Jenna B, Produced by: Billy Bob) :8. "DeadLove" featuring The Mannequins (Written by: The Click, Produced by: The Click) :9. "Call Your Mom" featuring Calvin Price (Written by: The Click; Jade Warren, Produced by: The Click) :10. "Purebreds Are A Girl's Best Friend" (Written by: The Click, Produced by: The Click) :11. "SOS (Don't Go)" (Written by: Rinaya Jumbaya; Patikar Putyani; Ava Smith-Parker; Zenee Zenibar, Produced by: Rinyaya Jumbaya; Ava Smith-Parker) Bonus Track :12. "Superman (Save The Day)" featuring Nathan King (Written by: Nathan King; Ava Smith-Parker, Produced by: Nathan King) Credits Awards